Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000
Public Law 106-399 · H.R. 4828 · 106th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Oct 30, 2000 · Public Lands and Natural Resources
Sponsor: Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR-2)
Cosponsors (2): Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Rep. Darlene Hooley
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act of 2000 - Title I: Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area - Subtitle A: Designation and Purposes - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, to designate the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area consisting of Federal land in Harney County, Oregon. Declares that the purpose of the Area is to conserve, protect, and manage the long-term ecological integrity of Steens Mountain.
Subtitle B: Management of Federal Lands - Sets forth provisions regarding management of Federal Area lands and requires a plan for the long-range protection and management of such lands. Includes within the plan a transportation plan for Federal lands in the Area.
(Sec. 112) Prohibits off-road travel in Federal lands in the Area, except under certain circumstances. Bars construction of roads or trails for motorized vehicles unless the Secretary determines it necessary for public safety or environmental protection.
(Sec. 113) Permits uses of Federal lands in the Area only to further the purposes for which the Area is established. Makes such lands unavailable for commercial timber harvest. Permits the removal of trees only if the Secretary determines such removal is needed for ecological restoration and maintenance or public safety. Authorizes the sale of forest products from such removals except in the Steens Mountain Wilderness Area and wilderness study areas described in title II of this Act. Permits fishing, hunting, and trapping on such lands, with authorized limitations. Requires the cancellation of specified grazing permits in the Fish Creek/Big Indian, East Ridge, and South Steens allotments. Reallocates available forage. Bars the construction of new facilities on Federal lands in the Area unless the structure is: (1) minimal in nature and consistent with this Act; and (2) necessary for enhancing botanical, fish, wildlife, or watershed conditions, for public information, health, or safety, or for livestock or recreation management.
Withdraws all Federal lands in the Area from entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, except for certain land exchanges that further the purposes of this Act as determined by the Secretary.
(Sec. 114) Authorizes the Secretary to acquire non-Federal lands and interests in lands in the Area or the Wilderness Area established by this Act.
(Sec. 115) Allows the Secretary to renew a special recreational use permit applicable to Wilderness Area lands if the permit is consistent with the Wilderness Act. Requires the Secretary, if renewal is not consistent with such Act, to seek other opportunities for the permit holder to realize historic permit use.
Subtitle C: Cooperative Management - Authorizes the Secretary to work with non-Federal landowners and other parties who agree to participate in the cooperative management of Federal and non-Federal lands in the Area. Permits the Secretary to enter into agreements with the Burns Paiute Tribe to protect cultural sites in the Area.
(Sec. 122) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a nondevelopment or conservation easement with willing landowners to further this Act's purposes.
Permits the Secretary to provide technical assistance, cost-share or incentive payments, and education to private landowners in the Area who enter into contracts with the Secretary to protect or enhance ecological resources on private land if those protections or enhancements benefit public lands.
Subtitle D: Advisory Council - Requires the Secretary to establish the Steens Mountain Advisory Council to advise the Secretary in managing the Area and in promoting cooperative management.
(Sec. 133) Directs the Secretary to appoint, as needed or at the advisory council's request, a team of scientists to provide advice on questions relating to Area management.
Title II: Steens Mountain Wilderness Area - Designates certain Federal lands in the Area as the Steens Mountain Wilderness Area.
(Sec. 202) Retires certain grazing permits in the Wilderness Area.
(Sec. 204) Continues the management of wilderness study areas within the Area excluded from the Wilderness Area as wilderness study areas.
Expands the boundaries of the Basque Hills Wilderness Study Area to include specified Federal lands.
Title III: Wild and Scenic Rivers and Trout Reserve - Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to expand the number of segments of the Donner und Blitzen River in Oregon to be administered as a wild river. Designates specified segments of Little Wildhorse, Wildhorse, and Kiger Creeks located in the Area as a wild river.
(Sec. 302) Directs the Secretary to designate the Donner und Blitzen Redband Trout Reserve. Excludes private lands adjacent to the river from the Reserve. Requires the Secretary to remove the dam located below the mouth of Fish Creek and above Page Springs if removal of the dam is scientifically justified and funds are available for such purpose.
Title IV: Mineral Withdrawal Area - Requires all Federal lands included within the withdrawalboundary in the Area to be withdrawn from location, entry, and patent under the mining laws and operation of the mineral leasing, geothermal, and minerals materials laws. Authorizes the development of saleable mineral resources for road maintenance use only in areas identified as gravel pits within such boundaries (excluding the Wilderness Area, wilderness study areas, and wild and scenic rivers) where development was previously authorized.
(Sec. 402) Requires the Secretary to acquire State lands within the mineral withdrawal area in exchange for: (1) Federal lands or mineral interests outside such area; (2) a monetary payment to the State; or (3) a combination of a conveyance and payment.
Title V: Establishment of Wildlands Juniper Management Area - Directs the Secretary to establish a special management area consisting of Area Federal lands to be known as the Wildlands Juniper Management Area. Requires special management practices to be adopted for such area to restore the historic fire regime and native vegetation communities on Steens Mountain.
Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title and juniper management provisions of title I of this Act.
Title VI: Land Exchanges - Authorizes the Secretary, for purposes of protecting and consolidating Federal lands within the Area and Wilderness Area, to carry out land exchanges with specified corporations and individuals to include acquired private lands in the Wilderness Area, Area, or wilderness study areas.
Title VII: Funding Authorities - Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for acquisition of non-Federal lands and interests in the Area and wilderness areas and for entering into nondevelopment and conservation easements.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Agriculture Committee · House · discharged from, referred toSubcommittee: Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee- Natural Resources Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee; Federal Lands Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 19 actions.
- Oct 30, 2000Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 106-399.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Oct 19, 2000PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Oct 12, 2000FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Oct 4, 2000FloorFloor · The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.
- FloorFloor · Rule H. Res. 609 passed House.
- Oct 3, 2000CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
- Sep 20, 2000CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Natural Resources Committee
- Jul 18, 2000CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Federal Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Jul 13, 2000CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Federal Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Jul 12, 2000CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.